New games ( + Rise of Legends surprize)

[Scleameth 19]

So, last Saturday I returned from a business trip and thought that this would be the ideal time to start a new game. I still play Sacred, but I only on a pop-in basis. So I had 4 games in my hand an seeing my wife's glare I had to decide to buy only 1... /devil I bought the Baldurs Gate game pack, since I never palyed it and was always curious. Got home installed it, played a bit and realized early on that this game might not be what I hoped. So I played and played... and played, never really getting the impression that what I was doing was right or wrong, just scouting about, gaining no significant experience to level up to try new skills... I stopped right there and installed Bladurs Gate 2, seeing as I would obviously need to read the complete 146 page manual to make any headway, I thought I might as well play the game with better graphics and take it from there.... still no real attraction towards the game.

 

So yesterday I bought a gaming magazine and read the reviews of Rise of Legends and Spellforce 2. Both of these games were part of my initial 4-game selections (the other was Neverwinter Nights - also not played yet). I never got round to downloading the Spellforce 2 demo, but read that it was a system hog and reasoned that my perrefin-power-pc won't be able to handle the graphix. The review was not great, but the review of Rise of Legends was.

 

On my way home last night I bought Rise of Legends. Installed it as soon as I got home (and deleted some old mp3s to open enough space) and only got to bed at 2 this morning ! I watched the intro about 4 times ! The gameplay is also very nice and not as focused on many diffirent resources as some RTS games of late. I used to play Area of Effect back in the day and prided myself on 'Bronzing in 13', then there was Starcraft and nothing really got close to beating the gameplay. I played AoE2 & 3 a little, but.... not the same. C & C 1st 2 was nice, but Tiberian Sun was a downer. I never really liked Warcraft, but finished the single player WC3 and expansion with some good time and some bad times, I can't comment much on multiplayer there, since none of my lan buddies liked WC3. I played Rise of Nations a bit, but never really got stuck into the single player mode.

 

Rise of Legends : Simple, Great looking, Very Original !! Although I have to replace parifin with jet-fuel to get my pc running the game and still it brings up a message box informing me about the lack of pc-power, I still manage to suck out a good amount of grafix at 1024X768. It's been a while since I looked forward to a whole weekend of gaming !

 

I'll leave Spellforce 2 on the shelves and take Rise of Legends if you like RTS..... I'd leave Baldurs Gate on the Shelves and take Spellforce 2 if you like RPG (that's if you don't already own Sacred).

[Cygnus 0]

Spell Force 2 is not an RPG, it is a RTS with roleplaying elements.

 

Balder's Gate 2 is an exceptional game as is Knights of the Old Republic. The Elder Scroll games as well. Torment in my mind is the pinnacle computer roleplaying game. The story and the interaction and the immersion is what is paramount in a roleplaying game. Sacred is much like Diablo..it is an action game with roleplaying elements.

 

I for one like publishers to include comprehensive documentation, most these days include a skimpy pamphlet on how to use the game interface and nothing else. It seem most would rather captalize on a published, supplimental "guide" book instead. In the case of Balder's Gate's documentation, the majority of the book is background story and spell desciptions. The actually game mechanics parts are not as daunting as you may think.

 

To say "leave Balder's Gate on the shelf" is a gross misrepresentation of the excellent series that truly is. It perhaps is not what you were expecting. It is not Sacred. It is a roleplaying game, first and foremost. The action is also meant to simulate a table top, turn/round based charatcer action..in the real time computer environment. It tells an epic story that was intended to span 3 complete games. As fate would have it..the third installment and final chapter got told in the Throne of Bhaal expansion instead (due to the impending failure of Interplay). An epic story that is compelling and flexible enough for any charatcer motivation. It is a game where you actually remember the names, personalities and voices of party members, infact, you probably see them more as companions. I'd have to say Balder's Gate 2 and Throne of Bhaal is a very satisfying roleplaying game experience.

 

Favorite character in Balder's Gate series: Jaheira (excellent voice acting by Heidi Shannon)

The relationship between the player and Jaheira is probably the most complicated, she is also the companion that suffers and looses the most in her association with the player.

 

All time favorite villan in a computer game. SHODAN. The artifical intelligence that believed she was a godess.

 

All time favorite roleplaying charatcer party member/companion. She is my avatar. Fall from Grace.

[Scleameth 19]

Never played Torment - I'll keep an eye open. I agree that Knights of the old Repuplic was an excellent game !

I guess you're right that Spellforce leans more towards the RTS side, but I still enjoyed the RPG factor.

I guess I have to choose my words carefully since there seems to be quite a few people out there that don't like to compare Diablo and Sacred to 'Real RPGs'. In my mind they're both RPGs, just not as complex - focussing more on the character level and abilities than the user 'guiding' the story-line.

 

I guess I was a bit harsh on Bladurs Gate, I know there's millions out there that think it's an awsome game. I just like to get home sometimes and only play for an hour - Baldurs Gate does not allow for that because in an hour, nothing much happens. It's just that I never 'saw' the game before I bought it, I bought it plainely on word of mouth. Maybe I'm just too impatient, maybe I'm just an idiot. I think that sooner or later I will play BG2 from start to finish, but I've got 3 new games now and BG2 has to move to the back of the que.

 

Horses for courses I guess, sorry if I insulted BG, but I'm sure there's people out there saying : 'Why is idiot so hyped about Rise of Lgends'...

[Llama8 8]

Personally I wasn't too fond of Baldurs Gate (not quite sure why), but I loved Knights of the Old Republic & Neverwinter Nights. Not to mention Fallout 1 & 2.

 

I think one of my favourite characters has to be the goblin you rescue near the beginning of the second expansion pack for NWN, along with some NPC from BG who said "Don't touch me, I'm super important!" when you clicked on him...

 

I'm also lacking gaming time so I tend to prefer games where I can also jump in for an hour or so.

[Schot 407]

Ah cool. You got Rise of Legends Scleameth?! I tried out the demo. Man that was a lot of fun.

 

I recently upgraded my sys so I think I'll take a few more spins with Legends. The last time I tried the demo I eventually got this mammoth robo spider thing that shot out missiles galore as well as some huge chopper thing. That was a great deal of fun! Smashed everything in sight mwahaha!

 

We needs cool screenshots of your game play Scleameth. /lol

[Guest gogoblender]

I'd heard so much about the Baldur's gate series. How intensely satisfying it was. How deep. And for a little while my cousin and his girlfriend had Torment. Cyg, you are absolutely correct in saying that this was one hell of a great game. Atmospherics, mood, dialogue...very few games of late, indeed of yore have probably matched this gem. I'd even wonder whether it would be worth my time to visit these yesteryear classics and attempt to find out whether or not they can once again strike chords in my heart or not. I saw Rise of Legends when Schot had downloaded the demo briefly and I was pretty impressed. Clean, optimized and looking very sharp. Maybe this one could tide us over till Sacred 2?

*sigh*

Seems like it's looking to be a long wait...but I need to get some kills in somewhere

/devil

 

gogo

[Scleameth 19]

Ah cool. You got Rise of Legends Scleameth?! I tried out the demo. Man that was a lot of fun.

 

I recently upgraded my sys so I think I'll take a few more spins with Legends. The last time I tried the demo I eventually got this mammoth robo spider thing that shot out missiles galore as well as some huge chopper thing. That was a great deal of fun! Smashed everything in sight mwahaha!

 

We needs cool screenshots of your game play Scleameth. /lol

 

That spider is huuuuuge ! Although you only get to controll one in the second act....

 

I'll have to capture some additional screenies.... I tend to forget in the heat of battle and when some hard fought missions are done.... THEN I remember... hehe it's a shame really, 'cause there's some nice maps. I tend to pan the camera when marching a big army over some insanely huge bridge, but .... FORGET TO TAKE SCREEN SHOTS !! I started the 3rd and final chapter yesterday and the game just gets better !

Have I mentioned the great intro ? /whistle

 

I think there's a bug in the version I have. *ties string to finger to remember to search for patches* In the world map, you build 3 types of sections to your captured cities. 1 will create +1 to army every turn, 1 creates +1 to Wealth and 1 creates +1 to research. Now it seems that only once I have enough Weatlh points to upgrade to city-level that I start gathering points for army and research... bummer, since you might only start upgrading unit attacks and defence later on in the campaign - as expected, but that leads to you not being able to upgrade every type. In the second act, one genie kept attacking my one region while I was on the other side of the world map conquering regions. To resist the attack you have to have a Barracks in your city. This barracks is destroyed, but the region survives. The lead to me spending a lot of Wealth points on rebuilding the barracks and not being able to upgrade to city status in other regions.

Hero abilities are upgraded by completing quests and side-quests.

 

SPOILERS :

 

The first chapter starts off with this Clockwork technology - very cool. These are basically soldiers with guns, clockwork men - very big robot-type guys, tanks, etc... you might say it leans more towards C&C. I got this one hero that, when upgraded enough, will take out a small city with one shot !

 

The second chapter is more focussed on magic and desert-type units. There are some dragon-type units that are absolutely amazing in gfx and animation ! There's this one dragon type that will destroy a defence tower in one pass ! The one heroin you get at the start of this chapter has this special ability to create a fire explosion - since you face water-crystal-like apponents, this fire is a very potent attack !... and it's so biiiiig !

 

The third chapter started with me facing some sun god - This guy was really, really big, but I'll have to fight him again with my improved walker !! Seems like the units in this chapter can be compared to Stargate.

 

I'll post some screenies tomorrow...

[Guest gogoblender]

it's a compelling looking game, with lots of smart niceties

indeed...just your writing of the word clockwork technologies makes me smile

looking forward to the screenies

 

gogo

[Schot 407]

Oh man. Every time you post about the game Scleameth I get the urge to buy it, haha. And yah, that spider thing IS huge. Honestly I was kinda blown away when I saw it!

 

I'm gonna start the demo up again and see if I can find some other cool things in it. The demo lets you play the clock work men and some other race I haven't tried yet.

 

I think a couple more plays of the demo and I'll be out to buy the full version.

[Scleameth 19]

as promised, here are some of the screens I managed to remember to capture....

 

These first 2 was after my first really big battle - I harrassed the pc with air strikes and that's why I have so much spare resources... 1,2

 

These 2 was when I got to controll the giant spider - I tried to capture the scale of the thing, but unfortunately one can't move units around after a scenario is complete.... 3, 4

 

Some sand dragons : 5,6,7

 

Some group fotos with a golem : 8,9, 10

 

I just got Damanhur as a hero : 11, 12, 13

 

Crossing a bridge with some nice Afreet action : 14, 15, 16

 

I'll post some more of the new campaign as soon as I have to stop working late..... again.....

[Scleameth 19]

Here are some screenies of my latest adventures :

 

Started act 3 (with my improved walker !) 20

 

Seeing my new baby fire for the first time ! 21, 22

 

I like the new cities ! 23

 

Facing the enemy : 24

same screen as above, just panned - one of my special abilities is to make copies of myself... evidently so is the enemy hero's ... 25

 

It followed me home... can I keep it ? 26

 

This is the situation of my current save game... I HAD TO GO EAT DINNER THAT VERY SECOND OR ELSE !! 27

[Katran 0]

I have Rise of legends for nore then a month and just got the time to play and I have to say I really like it.

Scleameth I don't know what happened with you and Baldurs Gate (maybe there was something in the air) but it is by fare the best Rpg that has comed out. Man the books that you can take in game have better storylines than most rpgs out there. I really don't know what you mean that you keet playing for hours and the game didn't develope but as far as I know the game has a good story line if you were talking about the main one.

If you are looking for other rts you can allway tray Act of War it was very very nice

[Guest gogoblender]

I love the way the stuff is animated in this game.

A lot of new ideas, some great inovation with citys and units...

I was pretty much adoring the entire way the demo played out.

A great addition to the almost tired out RTS Genre

 

gogo

 

p.s. man...those big robo spiders...

all about the spiders man /spider

[Katran 0]

I havn't comed to does unites yet I played 3 level and I can't put an allnighter to day to get to them. Plus I don't want to spend the game till experience. for SW:empires at wars comes out.

[Scleameth 19]

@Katran : Thanks for your inputs on Baldurs Gate ! I guess I'm the type of gamer that focus more on the action than on the story line... Of course if a good combination of both exist in a game, I find the game better than one with just good gameplay... I guess the day will come when I'll sit down and play Baldurs Gate from start to end; and I might just find out what all the hype is about ?

 

Aaaargh I hate my pc ! I installed Rise of Legends on my brother in law's new pc and realized I'm missing out on sooooo many graphics !! He's now gonna buy the game and I'm now gonna start saving for a new pc.... *those darn famous last words again !*

[Katran 0]

I know what you mean. /lmao

When I was playing ST:Dominion War I thought that the starships were moving slow because that was the way the game was made. When I took the game to a friend and saw how the game was flighing there I said to my self you now Katran it is that time of year when the new grap. cards smell so good and I was off for a new one. /rofl

[Scleameth 19]

I guess I was a bit harsh on Bladurs Gate, I know there's millions out there that think it's an awsome game. I just like to get home sometimes and only play for an hour - Baldurs Gate does not allow for that because in an hour, nothing much happens. It's just that I never 'saw' the game before I bought it, I bought it plainely on word of mouth. Maybe I'm just too impatient, maybe I'm just an idiot. I think that sooner or later I will play BG2 from start to finish, but I've got 3 new games now and BG2 has to move to the back of the que.

 

I'm just an idiot !

 

So I finished RoL and had some really good battles. I'm just sad I could not play it with all the great graphix... ahh well, at least I enjoyed it ! So next on the list was Prey... and that lasted, oh, about 15 minutes of graphix tampering when I realized that I'd rather wait for a new pc than spoil the game on 640X480.... Moving down the list was Titan Quest, when my eye cought the Baldurs Gate box. I read the whole manual, which basically gave me time to listen to practicall all my mp3s I take back all my nasty comments about this game. I appologise to Cygnus and Katran for giving the game a bad report.

I started a sorcerer and it took me rather a long time to set up my character (ALL THOSE SPELLS !). I played the tutorial and I guess I should have done that the 1st time 'round, rather than try and 'wing it' as I normally play games /blush

I guess I'm used to 'not dying and never saving', but this is not the case with BGII... I died very early on with a blast from my own magic... /blush and I've died a couple of time since. The quicksave button has become my best friend and I'm sure we're gonna be good comrades during the course of this game. But the game is actually very nice and Titan Quest will just have to wait a while...